Sometimes guys plan their proposal down to every detail and sometimes they just ‘wing it’ — sometimes it’s a little mix of both! Darrick’s proposal story to Joy was so ‘classic’ Darrick: it was filled with misdirection and fakery in every direction (in a good way)!

It all started when Darrick faked a phone call from his mother about how they had to attend an important family dinner get-together that could not be missed — he even acted disappointed that he had to cancel another ‘small group’ get-together that night! He booked reservations at Unionville (Pizza) Co..

Joy’s favourite dessert is a Longo’s fruit tart pie — essentially a really big fruit tart with a custard middle — so Darrick bought one. He wanted to put a box (with the engagement ring) on the top of the pie, but with all the fruit slices, there was no flat surface to affix anything to it. Time for some ingenuity: he went to a pizza shop and grabbed one of those pizza tripod stands (you know, the plastic thing that keeps the box from caving in and sticking to the pizza), stuck the tripod on top of the fruit tart and then got a box and double-sided taped it to the tripod.
Joy had said before, “I would marry you even if you proposed with a shoe string”, so Darrick literally took a shoe string and put it in the box (no special knot or anything!).

As they approached the restaurant, Darrick says, “Oh, I need to go poo.  Just wait for me here and I’ll be back”.  (Doesn’t that sound like typical Darrick?) He planned on faking going to the washroom so that he could return to the car to grab the fruit tart. Considering that this is all unfolding in the month of March, it’s still wintertime, so Joy was getting cold and wanted to wait inside somewhere.  Eventually, he got her to stay warm inside an art gallery as he returned with the pie.

As he returns from the parking lot, he walks up the stairs, and sees Joy there sitting at the top of the steps.  It was perfect, the sunset was shining down on her, glowing, and golden — the moment was just perfect.  So as he makes his way up the stairs, he ‘fakes’ tripping and says, “Oh no!” and flings the cake box a little bit.
Worried that the cake had been squashed, Joy checks the cake box to make sure that everything is okay. She peaks inside and says, “Why does this cake have my name on it?”. She slowly opens the top and realizes that it says, “Will you marry me, Joy?” complete with a shoe string. Darrick had the ring in his pocket the whole time, so he takes it out, and she says, “Yes!”

As Darrick was toying with Joy’s phone for most of the day, her cell phone battery had drained completely — she couldn’t call her family or friends, text them messages, update her Twitter status, post to Facebook or anything! She ended up using Darrick’s phone instead, but iPhone’s auto-correct came to ruin the moment changing her message to say, “ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!! I’m enraged @.@”

Long story short, she wasn’t enraged … she was engaged :)

After getting to know Chantelle and Lucas (and meeting Lucas’ mother) at their engagement session, I was really looking forward to a super fun day with these two at their wedding. These two have such contagious, fun-filled personalities — you’re always guaranteed a good time when you’re around them!

Their cozy ceremony was a perfect reflection of their individual examples. Lucas is the light-hearted, always-joking-around goofball while Chantelle is the lovely, warm, expressive sweetheart. Lucas was pulling jokes the whole time, from ‘giving up and leaving’ when he was waiting for Chantelle and her father to walk down the aisle to ‘double checking’ his vows in disbelief of what he was supposed to say — it was just SO “Lucas”! Chantelle was so happy to see Lucas that she was tearing up before their first look / reveal and she was just so excited to finally be with him at the altar and finally be his wife!

Their reception was super memorable for me because of the love that so obviously exists within their families. Lucas’ grandmother needed the help of a wheelchair for most of the day, but was filled with energy when “Billy Jean” (the Michael Jackson song) was pumping through the speakers. Lucas moonwalked himself over to her wheelchair and started dancing with her. I’m pretty sure that grandma, even in her wheelchair, had moves which rival Artie from Glee! When a slower ballad played, Lucas hugged grandma, she gathered up her strength, and they held each other close and danced together. Lucas’ father watched it all happen before his eyes and smiled — it was such a tender and precious moment and it’s rare to see that kind of multi-generational love these days.

Congratulations, Chantelle and Lucas! Remember, “This day I will marry my best friend, the one I laugh with, live for, dream with, love …”
P.S. Thanks, Nick for being such a great voice-activated light stand!

Photographers: Christopher Luk (Andrew Ho)
Creative Relaxed Portrait Session Location: “Just keep driving until you find some place cool” :)
Ceremony and Dinner Reception Venue: Oakview Terrace Reception Centre in Toronto, Ontario
Bride’s Shoes: Badgley Mischka Footwear
Florist: Stouffville Florist in Stouffville, Ontario
Engagement Session: Chantelle and Lucas’ Engagement Session in Stouffville and Pickering / Uxbridge, Ontario

Karen and Derrick got married exactly one week before Kitty and I got married! People were asking Kitty and I if we would be taking “time off of work” to prepare for the wedding … nope! Life keeps moving, things keep happening, the world doesn’t just stop rotating because you get married ;) Suffice to say, things have been extremely busy!

Something else also came up one week before their wedding: Karen’s mother experienced a medical emergency and needed to stay at the hospital for treatment. We had no idea if her she would be able to make it to the wedding or if we would have the opportunity to travel to the hospital and see her.
During this time of uncertainty, it was amazing to see how hopeful and strong Karen and Derrick were. It is truly during times of trial that our faith is most stretched, tried, and leaned upon. Phil Pang even got all the necessary equipment together to live stream the ceremony to the hospital.
Amazingly, Karen’s mother had enough strength to return home, slowly walk up and down the stairs, get dressed, hug her daughter, and attend the ceremony. It was such a precious moment when Karen saw her mother return home for the first time (and for her mother to see Karen in her wedding dress!).

I was also looking forward to seeing what kind of creative stationery ideas Deborah of Palettera Custom Correspondences would create for this wedding! Deborah does a great job getting to know her couples and making their designs a reflection of their personalities.  Her integration of authentic, traditional letterpress into her designs is just amazing :)

Thanks, Karen and Derrick for choosing me to document your wedding day for our generation and generations to come.

Photographers: Christopher Luk (Glendon Tang)
Ceremony Venue: Cornerstone Chinese Alliance Church in Markham, Ontario
Creative Relaxed Portrait Session Location: Main Street Unionville in Unionville, Ontario
Dinner Reception: Grand Baccus Banquet & Conference Centre in Toronto, Ontario
Stationery and Invitations: Deborah Lau-Yu of Palettera Custom Correspondences: “Luxury couture wedding invitations & letterpress design”: Fine papers & stationery, custom invitations & graphic design, traditional letterpress
Bridesmaid’s Dresses: Sakura Convertible Dress from Henkaa from Toronto, Ontario
Videographer: Phil Pang from Toronto, Ontario
Engagement Session: Karen and Derrick’s Main Street Unionville Engagement Session

Lillian and Daniel live in Edmonton, Alberta, so they accomplished a huge amount of their planning from afar — we even had our meetings online over Google Video Chat!

If you have the honour of knowing Lillian, you just know, if you want to find her, look for the person in the room with the most contagious laugh :)

Great food was a high priority for these two as they are even MORE intense foodies than Kitty and I!  You can follow them on their gastronomic adventures at Beyond Umami. If you want to do a bit of research on which local restaurants are best, or you’re looking for a delicious recipe, or just want to get some culinary inspiration, be sure to check them out!  They even bake their own bread and make their own hand-made noodles!

It’s always encouraging when you meet men who truly love their spouse. The truth about men and their emotions is that men are extremely emotional about the people and the things that they actually care about.  You can easily tell — Daniel deeply cares for Lillian! Both their families are so loving, kind, and supportive. Daniel’s father (quite the handyman!) even hand-crafted Lillian’s engagement ring box!

Plus, you can tell that people really love and respect these two. At larger receptions, it can be difficult to ensure that everyone has quieted down so that speeches can be heard, however, at their wedding, every guest was turned and completely focused and attentive to every word … wow! It’s just a simple affirmation as to how much people love them, want to hear from them, and want to support them.

Congratulations, Lillian and Daniel — may you continue to love each other more and more deeply each day!

P.S. It was pretty cool seeing Jenny’s father at this wedding! It turns out that Jenny’s parents and Lillian’s parents are good friends.  If you’ve got a keen eye, in one of the photos below, you’ll see him getting his dance groove on :)

Photographers: Christopher Luk – Toronto Wedding Photographer (Andrew Ho)
Ceremony Venue: Immanuel Baptist Church in Toronto, Ontario
Creative Relaxed Portrait Session Location: “Just keep driving until you find some place cool” :)
Dinner Reception: The Columbus Event Centre – Sala Caboto in Toronto, Ontario
Hair Stylist: Ming Justin Cheung of Puzzle Creations, “Art-chitecture for Your Hair”
Bridesmaid’s Dresses: Sakura Convertible Dress from Henkaa from Toronto, Ontario

Jenny and James are such a super sweet couple. Jenny is one of the sweetest brides I have ever had the privilege of meeting! I know that Ming Justin Cheung agrees! She’s one of those genuinely wonderful people who naturally puts others before herself — even on her wedding day, she was making sure that everyone else had what they needed, that they were well-fed, and well-taken care of. I am sure her that her class of little students love her! Once you meet her, you can easily tell why she she makes such a great teacher. You’ll be seeing LOTS of her amazingly contagious smile in this post!

I loved James’ expression when Jenny and her father walked down the aisle at the ceremony — unbeatable cheek-to-cheek smile! You could tell how much anticipation was building for this day and how happy and excited they were for it to be finally happening.

Before their creative relaxed portrait session, Jenny and James had already prepared a quick lunch for everyone including some assorted Chinese bakery buns, ice-cold water, pop, and thirst-quenching Gatorade. We all devoured the drinks because it was nearing a blistering 40°C outside!

Funny story: After capturing a few photos with the whole bridal party outside, we went inside to take a break from the scorching sun. As we stepped inside, one of the workers at Evergreen Brick Works looked up and asked Andrew, “Why are you wet?”, pointing out how drenched in sweat he was! To be fair, we were all drenched and sweating buckets full! This was definitely one of those days that you become thankful for Willis Carrier’s famous invention!

Thanks, Jenny and James, for entrusting me with the honour of capturing your wedding and meeting so many of your amazing friends and supportive families! I love that you chose Ephesians 5:22-33 — what an amazing illustration of what Christ has done and what marriage (and your wedding) is all about!

Photographers: Christopher Luk – Toronto Wedding Photographer (Andrew Ho)
Ceremony Venue: Trinity Presbyterian Church York Mills in (Willowdale) Toronto, Ontario
Creative Relaxed Portrait Session Location: Evergeen Brick Works in Toronto, Ontario
Dinner Recception: Renaissance by the Creek in Mississauga, Ontario
Engagement Session: Jenny and James’ Engagement Session at the University of Toronto St George (Downtown) Campus
Hair Stylist: Ming Justin Cheung of Puzzle Creations, “Art-chitecture for Your Hair”

I love that Sophia and Johnny’s wedding was very much a reflection of their whacky, fun-loving personalities. (Just take a look at their engagement session!)  For example, they really wanted to have fun, chilling out with their wedding party at a local park, on the swings, at the splash pad, and play around at a McDonald’s PlayPlace! At the splash pad, “boys being boys” decided that a little friendly competition was necessary — I’m pretty sure Bobby won!

Johnny gifted Converse Chuck Taylor All-Stars to each one of his groomsmen — complete with their own customized names stitched onto the back of the shoe! And of course, for the bride and groom, they got their own respective pair, Mr. & Mrs.

At the ceremony, I was so encouraged to hear such Christ-centered vows. I cried tears of joy along with them too!

If you are a “sweet tooth”, close your eyes, because you would have been a glutton at their dinner reception. They had a cotton candy station, individually wrapped cupcakes, Whirly Pops and Gum Balls centrepieces, and freshly-popped popcorn too! To top it off, their cake was a three-flavour French Macaron tower!  In case you need to satisfy your craving right now, Sophia owns a company which makes baked treats called “Awesome in a Box” — I’m pretty sure your mouth is watering by now!

P.S. Sophia’s parents also own Our Thai Restaurant and Cafe, voted Reader’s Choice Best Thai restaurant in Vaughan for 2010! So the next time you’re in that side of town, drop by for a delicious visit!

Photographers: Christopher Luk – Toronto Wedding Photographer (Glendon Tang)
Ceremony Venue: Rexdale Alliance Church in Toronto, Ontario
Creative Relaxed Portrait Session Location: Kleinburg Main Street in Vaughan, Ontario
DJ: Good Vibrations from Vaughan, Ontario
Engagement Session: Sophia and Johnny’s Engagement Session at Kensington Market Toronto

Stephanie and Ricky are an amazing example of a God-loving, God-glorifying couple. You can see it clearly in their priorities in life, through their wedding vows to each other, and through their actions. As you re-live their wedding day, you’ll be able see how their whole day was just bathed in prayer!

Since they both live in Hong Kong, I sadly didn’t get to meet them and get to know them face-to-face, but thanks to the magic of technology, we got to know each other over a series of Google Video chats instead!

Steph and Ricky first met in high school and even went to the same church together. But it was only when they left home for Queens’ University that they started dating. Of course, their story has to start with Ricky being the stereotypical ‘up-to-no-good’ bad guy and Stephanie being the stereotypical ‘goody-two-shoes’ sweet girl — they like to akin it to “A Walk to Remember”.

Ricky proposed at Stephanie’s parent’s backyard patio, her most favourite place in the world, and now, a special place for the both of them. Ricky stayed up the whole night before, preparing over 240 photographs of various memories from their 12-year-long relationship. With help from his friends, floral arrangements were put together, candles were lit, and rose petals were laid across the floor. He serenaded her with the song “So Close” (from Disney’s Enchanted) and she said, “Yes”!
They returned to that spot on the wedding day for their “First Look” and Steph’s parents prayed over them both as friends surrounded them.  You can even see Ricky serenading her again as they celebrated their “First Dance”! Lots of great memorable moments on their wedding day — but make sure you don’t skip over the look on Ricky’s face as she walks down the aisle!

In other news, it turns out that The South China Morning Post newspaper featured their wedding!
On the front page (Thanks to Stephanie for the photograph), the headline says: “Time enough for love: after 12 years and many enforced separations, childhood sweethearts tie the knot”. The article is called: “Long-distance love blossoms into a back-garden proposal” by Vivian Chen.

Here’s a quick excerpt: “Stephanie Kwan and her husband Ricky Chan have known each other since high school. Back then, he was a popular lad who just loved his Toyota Supra, and she was the shrinking violet. ‘I always used to think that he was too loud for me, and that we couldn’t be a match,’ Stephanie said.”

Have an amazing marriage, you two!
Turns out that you’re a match after all :)

Photographers: Christopher Luk – Toronto Wedding Photographer (Glendon Tang)
Bride’s Shoes: DYOS (Design Your Own Shoes) Hong Kong
Bridesmaid’s Dresses: Sakura Convertible Dress from Henkaa from Toronto, Ontario
Ceremony: Richmond Hill Christian Community Church in Richmond Hill, Ontario
Reception: The Manor Event Venue By Peter and Paul’s in Kettleby, Ontario
Creative Relaxed Portrait Session Location: “Just keep driving until you find some place cool” :)

One of the questions I ask my couples before their engagement session is, “Is there a place that is of significance to you?”  Sometimes they can’t think of anywhere specific, but sometimes they look at each other, smile, moments start rolling in their minds of some great memories together, and they know exactly where they want to go.  It turns out that Lucas grew up on a farm where his family breeds race horses — so we definitely needed to make a visit to the farm, meet all the animals, and get this cowboy to wear his hat and his boots!  Apparently, the best way to wrap up an engagement session is to have some of Lucas’ mother’s home-made goulash — I hear it’s delicious beyond all reason :)

Chantelle and Lucas are both from Stouffville and their story is one where the lesson is “persistence is key”.  Chantelle was working at the bar’s coat check and Lucas was the slightly intoxicated, ‘immature’ boy who wouldn’t leave her alone all night long!

On the day that he was to propose, Chantelle came home way too early and ruined her own home-cooked, romantic dinner surprise. He ended up ordering in food instead and they shared a candlelit dinner together. Then, he presented her with 3 roses: one representing the past, one representing the present, and one representing the future — she said “Yes!”.

Looking forward to their wedding in October!

Assunta and Richard are such a uniquely wacky (for lack of a better term) couple, I was excited to see what their wedding day would be like, especially after how well their engagement session went!

I love it when my couples make their ceremony a personal reflection of who they are.  To match their intense video gaming experience, Assunta walked down the aisle to the theme of “The Legend of Zelda” and they finished their ceremony with walking out to “Tetris Theme A“! They brought their Nintendo DS’s to come out to play too!

Their day was filled with such a wide range of emotions, but my favourite moment was when Assunta was walking down the aisle and Richard just couldn’t control the tears of joy streaming down his face. When their eyes met, Assunta couldn’t hold back her tears either.  It was such a delicate and beautiful moment as Assunta’s mother handed her off to him and they embraced.

As always, it was great to see and partner with “friendors” Rhia of Artistrhi and Ming Justin Cheung of Puzzle Creations again! They both did an amazing job (as always) with everyone’s make-up and hair! This also marks my first time working with Stories Worth Sharing.

Congratulations Assunta and Richard! Thank you for entrusting me with this amazing opportunity to capture your wedding day! Hope you had a great time relaxing in Bali!

Photographers: Christopher Luk – Toronto Wedding Photographer (Glendon Tang)
Make-Up Artist: Rhia Amio of Artistrhi
Hair Stylist: Ming Justin Cheung of Puzzle Creations
Strings Ensemble (String Quartet): The Margaritas
Ceremony: Timothy Eaton Memorial Church in Toronto, Ontario
Wedding Dress / Bridal Shop: Maggie Sottero from Superior Bridal in Markham, Ontario
Florist: Jenny Hong of Floret in Markham, Ontario

Thanks to the surprise heavy overnight snowfall, everything was delayed on Liz and Lucas’ wedding day, but considering how much of a goofball Lucas is, it’s all fine! These two are an adventurous, trouble-making bunch! For example, I have never seen a bridal party proactively schedule a snowball fight in the middle of their wedding day!  There was only one rule: guys are not allowed to throw snowballs at the girls.  Game on!  The girls came ready for battle with their mittens, boots, and jackets, while the guys powered through the cold in just their tuxedos!  As the battle ensued, Lucas took a snowball, “Whack!”, right in the back of the head!
Afterwards, Amsterdam Brewery seemed like a great place to warm up for a bit.
The bridal party were real troopers braving the winter cold!

It’s always great to see old friends again! Before the ceremony started, Claudia and I had some time to catch up with Anna and Andrew — it’s always so encouraging to see couples enjoying married life. We also saw them in the evening for the dinner reception at Liberty Grand!  I asked them, “Feel familiar? Except you’re seats are in a different spot, I guess!”

Before people made their way into the hall, I had a bit of time to toy around with some light painting!  I want to integrate more long-exposures and lightpainting into my photography, but lack of time is always an issue during busy wedding days.
It was great that so many people made their way to the dance floor that night and partied it up!  Just experiencing and being a part of all that energy can make late-night dancing photos so much fun!

Congratulations, Liz and Lucas!

Photographers: Claudia Hung (Christopher Luk and Heidi Lau)
Make-Up Artist: Rhia Amio of Artistrhi
Reception: Centennial Room at the Liberty Grand Entertainment Complex